Chuck D has one of the most distinct and authoritative voices in Hip Hop, and now he’s been tapped to narrate a new Audible series called Can You Dig It? A Hip Hop Origin Story.
The five-part Amazon series explores the inception of the most profitable music genre in the world during the 1970s in the Bronx.
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“December 8, 1971, was a defining moment in American history,” the Public Enemy legend says at the opening of the show’s trailer. “A time when the gangs of New York laid down their weapons and redirected their youthful energy towards the creative arts. Arts that would eventually become the foundation of what we now know as Hip Hop.”
The show itself centers around how the murder of Ghetto Brothers gang member and peacekeeper Cornell “Black Benjie” Benjamin led to gang members choosing to settle their differences peacefully through the Hoe Avenue peace meeting, which led to the birth of Hip Hop after Kool Herc’s legendary Back to School party in 1973.
Angelique Lenox, who’s the niece of Cornell Benjamin said in a statement that she feels as though her uncle deserves to be mentioned alongside Kool Herc in Hip Hop history especially during its 50th Anniversary.
“If Kool Herc is considered the father of Hip Hop, then my uncle was the general; my uncle was the martyr,” Lenox said. “He didn’t die in vain, something good came from his death; his life mattered. This is truly my best version of a love letter to my father and my family and I will not stop until his name is a part of the Hip Hop story.”
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Influential figures at the time such as former Black Panther and peacekeeper Joseph Mpa, original Hip Hop MC Coke La Rock, and renowned photographers-documentarians Joe Conzo and Henry Chalfant will provide historical accounts of the socioeconomic and environmental conditions that led to the birth of the storied art form.
The titles of each episode in the series are: Episode 1: The Bronx is Burning, Episode 2: Old Enough to Die, Episode 3: The Three Trash Cans, Episode 4: Imagine, and Episode 5: From Hopeless to Hopeful. The series will be released on August 10 via Audible.
Alongside narrating duties, Chuck D is also giving out flowers to some of his fellow rappers. During an April episode of Drink Champs, the 62-year-old rapper praised both Eminem and Black Thought for being technologically gifted when it comes to rap.
“Eminem and Black Thought… big ups to Black Thought, The Roots, and also Eminem. Cyborgs, man,” Chuck said previously. “They’re cyborgs, but let me tell you this: we can also get caught up ’cause you know, you got future generations, and then you got people who ain’t gonna even get on the register who are so dope.”
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The “Fight The Power” rapper continued by praising Skyzoo as a dope lyricist, which prompted the Brooklyn MC to give Chuck D his flowers on Instagram.
“The good word on a Sunday from the pastor of hip-hop, the legendary rhyme animal Chuck D,” Skyzoo wrote in response at the time. “An absolute icon. Honored x humbled x grateful to say the least. Thank you OG. The book I studied from as a young aspiring writer had chapters dedicated to your penmanship in it. I learned from you 1,000%. Salute OG.”
